Mayweather vs Pacquiao 2 Betting Odds

All eyes were on the boxing world this past weekend as the highly anticipated rematch between Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was set to take place. But leave it to Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. to steal the thunder as he announced that he’s going to fight Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao in a rematch later this year. Sportsbooks have already put out odds for this bout and the undefeated Mayweather is a -230 favorite with Pacquiao coming back at +180.

The first fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao

The fight billed as “The Fight of the Century” was anything but when these two men entered the ring on May 2, 2015. Casual fans who were expecting fireworks were greatly disappointed, but Floyd did what Floyd does, and that’s defense and winning. The fight did have spurts of excitement when the two would engage, and Pacquiao did land a heavy shot early in the fight that put Mayweather on the defensive. However, once Money figured out Pac-Man’s movements, he went on cruise control, slipping and sliding while landing good counter-strikes.

In the end, it was Mayweather winning by unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the bout 116-112, 116-112 and 118-110. The fight brought in a record 4.6 million PPV buys and over $410 million in revenue.

The rematch between Mayweather and Pacquiao

Anything Floyd Mayweather Jr. touches turns to gold and although both he and Manny Pacquiao are past their prime (Mayweather is 41, Pacquiao 40), the fight will bring in big money. Pac-Man did look good in his most recent fight earlier this year when he knocked out Lucas Matthysse to win the WBA welterweight title.

Also, it was revealed hours after the first fight that Pacquiao had been dealing with a shoulder injury before the bout and reinjured it during the fourth round, and that’s why he couldn’t unload heavy shots. Additionally, he had asked for painkillers before the fight but was denied. Pacquiao had surgery on that shoulder for a torn rotator cuff following the fight.

Another interesting point from the first fight was that following the weigh-ins, Mayweather was given two IV infusions at home in an amount that is forbidden by the World Anti-Doping Agency because it could be used to mask performance enhancers. The Nevada State Athletic Commission was not aware of the injections until after the fight.

This rematch is expected to take place in December of this year, and it’ll be the first meaningful fight Mayweather has been in since Andre Berto over three years ago. Yes, I’m not including that walk in the park he had last August with Conor McGregor, as he didn’t break a sweat until the seventh round and the fight was over in the 10th.

Expect Pacquiao to be the aggressor in this fight much like he was in the first fight, but Mayweather’s impenetrable defense will surely be up and we could witness another 12-round decision with Money’s record going to 51-0.